Baby Mine
by A Red Rose
Summary: James Potter's reflections on his growth as a person and his relationship with Lily as Harry is being born. In progress.
1. Chapter 1

1Ok, I know I have no business starting something new when I have two stories both with only 1 chapter -but both are being worked on!-but this is something I just suddenly had an urge to write. After reading 'Deathly Hallows,' I was left wondering more about James. We now know so much more about Lily and even Severus Snape, but still almost nothing about James. And I know that a lot of people don't like James-yeah he was a jerk-because of the whole Snape-loves-Lily thing, but I think there's more to him. So this is a story of James Potter on July 31, 1980 and through the past and present we see how he grew up and became the man who Lily loved as Harry is born.

Certainly James had been surprised before; wasn't that the stuff life was made of? If life became too predictable, it would get rather boring. That had been one excuse he'd always given so cheerfully during his days at Hogwarts when caught in a prank. It was his duty as a Maurader to keep the world interesting. Of course he'd then be led away from a typically large crowd full of people clutching their sides from laughing so hard, usually by McGonagall. Or Minnie, as he so cheekily enjoyed calling her. The best part though was having the Mauraders with him.

James couldn't remember life without them. Meeting Sirius on the train had been one of the best things to ever happen to him. They were meant to be best friends, quite clearly. Each day was an adventure of laughter and joy. Remus had been a little harder to get to know, but that was all understandable now. He'd been so protective of himself, that it had taken James and Sirius some time before they'd been able to convince him that he didn't need to live as a loner. Now James didn't know what he'd do with without Remus' wit; probably never pee his pants from laughing so hard. And Peter...Peter was an entity all to himself. Even to James it wasn't clear sometimes what he was doing as a Maurader, as he was sure other people had wondered. But Peter was a good listener, and always ready to leave behind the mundane.

Leaning back on the couch, James gave a light yawn. He was utterly exhausted, but he would never fall asleep. His nerves were completely shot at the moment, and every time he heard a noise, he moved as though to jump up and grab his wand. And consequently Sirius would place a gentle but firm hand on his shoulder to restrain him. Just like now, when James heard a whimper sound from upstairs. It was considerably weaker than the one that had sounded just a few moments before. James felt as though he would die.

" Dammit James, would you stay still? You're driving me bloody insane. Listen, you _know_ Lily is strong. Probably better than anyone else...but never mind that. She's a fighter, and this will all before sooner than if you sit there all tense and irritable. Do yourself a favor, and get something to drink. Heck, even read a book; those always put you to sleep. And by doing that you'll do me a favor cause I am mighty tired." Sirius closed his eyes after finishing his quiet tirade and leaned back, sinking into the plush couch. He closed his eyes but opened them again a quarter, keeping them on James.

It was only the fact that James knew Sirius was right that stopped him from being furious with his best friend. James knew he was being difficult to humor. The comment about books had almost made him smile, which he hadn't done in hours. Wearily he looked at his watch and was shocked to see it was so late; nearly midnight. _'Poor Lily, she must be exhausted. And sweating like a pig,'_ James couldn't help but think ruefully as he pulled on his shirt, feeling how it stuck to his chest. It was really bloody hot and humid. The room Lily was in upstairs had been like an oven when he was ordered to leave, about an hour ago or so. The midwife had claimed James was driving her up the wall. She'd also said that if Lily didn't keep her promise of removing James of his manhood, then she would gladly do it for her. In between that and Lily's swearing at him, James had decided to leave.

Ah, Lily. James couldn't help but smile every time he thought of her. She was the reason he lived, the reason he fought for a free world. Through the years, she had always been there. Of course not always in the way he'd desired-though he did have to give her credit for her hexes. She was one talented spitfire of a witch. And he loved her.

When they'd first, er, met, on the train all those years ago, James had pitied her for only knowing Severus Snape. Blech, even thinking of him made James want to go take a shower. But oh what a stupid pity it had been, and how stupid he had been to tease her. Of course fate would go and make her the one that he wanted to spend his life with. Even more stupidly, he had told her so- in front of Snape-after he and the Mauraders had played a prank on her fourth year.

_Halloween, 1974_

_"Shh! Quick, here they come!" James could barely stop laughing as Sirius put the final enchantments on the piece of cake as they walked down the hall. The Halloween feast had just ended and most people were making their way back to the common rooms to hang out for awhile. But others, such as James, Sirius and Remus, were being the good little mischievous students that they were and wandered around looking for something fun to do. They had saved food for Peter because he was in the hospital wing with frog legs after an 'experiment_' _gone wrong._ _It of course had kept them laughing on the ground for quite some time, and only after Peter threw a book at Sirius in his fury did they bring him down to the hospital wing still laughing and invent some clever story as to what happened. But as soon as he had seen who was walking down the hall, some of the food had had to be sacrificed._

_"James, are you quite sure you want to be doing this? I don't know about you, but pranking Evans doesn't exactly say that you fancy her."_

_"Moony, Moony, Moony! The fact that I am doing this says everything! But-er-when did I say that I fancy Evans?_"

_Sirius and Remus exchanged derisive smirks. "Oh I don't know," Sirius began, "maybe on the Express when you said, "'I think I quite fancy Evans."' "Or how about when you stare at her during class? "And when you make a big spectacle of yourself when she's around_." "_My personal favorite is when you said that you forgot your name because 'Evans is stopping all my brain from functioning properly.'" "Ooh, and-" "Alright I get the idea! Shut up already!" James glared as Sirius and Remus roared with laughter. He couldn't wait till they got bit by the bug_. _Some friends they were!_

_He ignored their continuing laughter and stared down the hall, where he could see Evans approaching. Blech, she had Snape with her. They were talking quietly and James couldn't help but notice the odd expression on her face as it seemed that was avoiding eye contact with Snape. James stared at them quizzically, his eyes narrowing. After he'd noticed Evans missing from the feast, he'd looked over to the Slytherin table and found Snape gone as well. Had they been _alone_ together all this time? They both had their cloaks and scarves on; cheeks slightly rosy. It appeared that they had just returned from a walk outside. _

_As the two came closer, Snape looked up and glared at James with such intensity that James almost considered flying up into the rafters to get away. But then he scoffed at himself. Wasn't he a Gryffindor? It was in the job description; bravery! And old Snivellus was certainly nothing to be afraid of, unless he asked to wipe his hair off on your towel._

_"What do _you_ want?" Snape sneered as he eyed the three witih loathing. How dare they stand in his way. If it weren't for Lily he'd hex them till they couldn't walk. And thinking of Lily...Snape smirked at how James' eyes bugged when he noticed how close he was to Lily. Snape had just told Lily about James' rather obvious affection for her-which the girl still didn't believe. He raised an eyebrow and turned to face her while inching slightly closer to her. She was his Lily first, and would never be James' Lily._

_"Now, now, have we done anything to deserve that kind of treatment? Why, we're just making our way through the castle to spread some Halloween cheer. It's our duty as Maurauders-" James stopped short as he noticed how Lily was avoiding eye contact with him. Even though she professed to hate him and wished a thousand painful deaths on him everyday, she never looked at the ground in his presence. Especially when he was at his snarkiest-though of course he just did that to grab her attention, even if he'd never admit it to himself. And why, was she blushing?!_

_"Evans, are you alright?" he asked gently, forgetting that Sirius, Remus and Snape were all standing there. Snape went rigid as James stepped forward to close the gap between himself and Lily, brushing a finger under her chin to bring her face up. Yep, she was blushing. Blimey, was it something he'd done? Or Snape...eww. That thought didn't bear thinking. It simply wasn't good for his health._

_"Yes...Yes I'm fine._ _Why do you ask?" Lily's eyes were wide in a somewhat sarcastic shock. He was being very kind and it almost seemed genuine. But could she trust it? A wry, lopsided grin appeared on his face and Lily saw some mischievousness return to his eyes. James pretended to think about her question and without her noticing he stepped even closer and took her hand in his. "Because," he started, "if you were upset already I'd hate to cause something to add to your grief. Which I'm sure this will." With that the food that had been intended for Peter, suspended high up and invisible, came pelting down and squashed on them in a delicious series of ker-SPLATS. Lily-in a new pair of robes-, James and Snape were covered in cupcakes, bread, pieces of chicken, mashed potatoes, and other items that Lily didn't even want to think about. All she wanted to think about as she turned red with fury was how the boy still holding her hand laughing his goofy laugh was going down._

_"You...IDIOT!" Lily shrieked. She pushed James back and he fell to the ground with a cry of utter shock. He stared in disbelief as Lily pounced on him, forgetting that they had a little audience. She could only concentrate on how to punch him without breaking his glasses._ _It couldn't have been more that a minute before Sirius and Remus picked themselves up from the ground and helped pry Lily off James as they roared with laughter._ _For such a small girl, she could pack a mean right hook. James certainly looked a little worse for the wear, but all Lily seemed interested in was adding to his injuries. It took effort to hold her back._

_Somewhere in between gasping for air through his laughter and holding his right eye-she really could pack a mean right hook, James managed to stand up and stare at her incredulously. Lily fought against Sirius and Remus, but to no avail. Her eyes flashed with green fire as she tried not to think about the state of her new robes. Lily even forgot about Severus, who just stood there yelling 'how dare they', no nerve to do anything back. All Lily could do was watch James watching her as his eyes widened and he breathed audibly, as though he'd had a revelation. Having all the luck in the world, Lily was stuck to stand and listen as James voiced this thought with an actual smile._

_"You are the most amazing girl I've ever met! No other girl would ever even think of punching me! But you-you're not like the other girls, not at all! No not at all. Evans, go out with me?_

Oh Lily Evans-no, she was Potter now. Lily _Potter_. Just the thought brought a smile to James face. He almost laughed aloud; how ironic could fate get? The girl who'd punched him in their 4th year, albeit deservedly, was his wife! The girl, who after shrieking that he'd lost his mind with such a stupid revelation, was giving birth to his son! How much weirder could life get? Or better yet, how much happier could James Potter be?

So this was supposed to be a one-shot, but James Potter is just one of those characters that can't be explored in a one shot. James Potter growing up is going to take longer than I'd expected, but I have a feeling I won't mind all that much. I've always thought it would be interesting to know James' thoughts on himself, and this is my attempt at that. So if you have any suggestions for ideas of flashbacks (I've got a fair few, but outside creativity is never unwelcome) just let me know!

Please R+R!


	2. Chapter 2

Umm…so…I'm really sorry it took me so long to update. I never intended for it to, especially since this is my favorite of the stories that I've started. Like I said before, I never thought James was done justice in the books…he seriously couldn't have been _that_ bad if Lily ended up falling for him. Of course, there will be points here in my story where we see him before he grows up into the man that Lily loved. He'll grow up eventually though, don't you worry! This chapter will show him in a slightly more serious mood, but just as a warning though the chapters will jump and back with different memories showing different levels of James; some more mature, some decidedly less and so on. Hope you enjoy!

James winced as a particularly strongly worded flux of words flowed down from the upstairs oven…er, room. A slightly guilty grin quickly followed though; James knew labor pains were no laughing matter but Lily was just so damn funny. And he was quite used to being on the receiving end of her curses and screams…for more than one reason. In fact, Sirius chose that moment to voice the same thought.

"If you were any other bloke I'd reckon you were crazy to not be cowering in the corner in fear of that crazy ginger you call wife, but since you're James I'm already know you're crazy," Sirius drawled sleepily. He cranked open one eye and glanced around at the stairs from where the evil screams traveled. About an hour ago Sirius had decided to never get a girl pregnant. Sure, sex was splendid and he'd had his fair share of it- but regardless, he was never going to forget to use the contraception charm. No children meant no witch screaming that he was never going to have sex again once she charmed off his manhood or shriveled it up with frog liver juice or…ohhh Lily was too creative for Sirius' comfort. Yep, if he was James Potter he'd have started crying by now probably. But thankfully he was Sirius Black…the better looking, single, highly eligible bachelor…he really needed to stop getting so carried away. His girlfriend, Arienne, wouldn't appreciate the humor in this instance. Good thing she couldn't read his thoughts.

"She's not _a_ crazy ginger…she's _my_ splendidly, silly, fiery and slightly crazy ginger. And just because I might never get to have sex again without groveling does not make her any less wonderful…ahhh fuck I sound like a foolish pansy who belongs in Madam Puddifoots. Bloody hell I need a drink, a bloody strong one and a book and…ow." James slumped back in his chair as Sirius hit him with a spell to knock him out for a few minutes. James could get some much needed rest and Sirius could have peace and quiet-as much as the tiger Lily upstairs would allow- and have two very strong drinks ready as soon as James came back to the world of the living.

Sirius often wondered about those two. James and Lily Potter; everyone could see it coming- James had been so bloody taken with her growing up- everyone except her at least. Or maybe she had seen it and had always just refused to admit an attraction to the bloke; maybe that was why she'd clung to the old friendship with Snape for so long. For such a smart witch she really was bloody oblivious; not only could Lily not see how genuinely James cared for her (though admittedly he made it bloody difficult to see through all the pranking; only on account of knowing James so well could Sirius see it was the real deal) but she also didn't see Snape's obsession, darker and darker it became.

The slimy git had hated Sirius and James; they gave him plenty of reasons to do so, but there were still instances where it was completely unwarranted. Sirius knew he'd never be one of Snape's favorite people, given the prank he pulled that almost cost Snape his life, but James had been the one to save him! And it only served to make Snape hate James even more. In what universe was that justified?

Regardless, Snape had been the one to introduce Lily to the wonders of the magical world, the first to admire her for it. Only in superb bouts of drunkenness had James ever admitted to Sirius how jealous he was of Snape for having that connection with Lily, and even more amazingly, how glad he was that someone took Lily under their wing. Then just when Sirius would feel like dying from shock (or killing James out of shock) James would laugh and share his further relief that Snape had refrained from infecting Lily with his slime, noting that it would've been difficult to get out of his robes after all the times James and Lily had snogged.

"I wonder if she ever wishes she could have made the difference with Snape. He brought her into this world." It shouldn't have surprised Sirius that not only was James slowly regaining consciousness, but that their minds would be on almost the exact same wavelength; their connection was uncanny at this point. Sirius chose to scoff and roll his eyes as he shoved a strong mixed drink into James hand, who grunted at the contact and rose his free hand to rub his head, squinting up at Sirius with a slight scowl.

"Don't be daft, Snape may have been the first to show Little Lily this world, but he sure as hell did not go as far in accepting her into it. He made his choice to not let Lily be the difference for him. Snape chose to be a Death Eater, to be scum. He could've risen above his sorry background, and he didn't," Sirius was especially sensitive to this, having risen above his own less than tasteful background, and he was sure it would not have worked the way it did without James at his side. Snape had had Lily, and it did not even make a dent. Shame it was at that, for Lily was a right bird-ah, there came a fresh shriek for James' blood from upstairs-a special woman indeed.

James chuckled. "I wonder what she'd do if I were to go up there and tell her I wanted a whole house of children?"

Sirius snorted. "Mate, I doubt you'd even get the words out. That wife of yours has a way of knowing when you're up to anything. You even try to go up those stairs with that statement in your mind and she'll know, and you'll be slammed with something I don't even want to think of." Sirius even gave a theatrical shudder at the thought of Lily's magical prowess. He had never been on the receiving end quite as much as James though, and for that he was grateful.

"Watch, she'll insist on separate bedrooms in the future. No more fun for me…oh I'll talk Lily into having more children, I got her to give me a chance didn't I? Sure it was nothing short of a miracle, but Lily's taught me important lessons, and it only goes to show that I absorbed them if I apply them to life now right?" James wore a sad grin; he had learned important lessons from Lily to be sure, but at what cost? Even now, there were times when he thought maybe, just maybe, he pushed Snape over the edge too much and he never would have uttered that despicable word. His fifteen year old self had not thought too much about it until the evening after Lily severed her friendship with Snape for good.

_May, 1975._

_James sat on the plush sofa in the Gryffindor Common Room, wishing he could sink into the cushions and disappear from the world. Or at least from this moment, from the conversation he hadn't wanted to overhear; Lily Evans' last public conversation with Severus Snape. _

_It had been a stroke of luck that Mary MacDonald had left the portrait hole open when she stopped to berate Snape, who'd run up to her, panting as he begged for her to go get Lily. Most nights James would have loved to put the scumbag in his place for hurting Lily Evans so deeply, but tonight his heart would not have been in it; the excursion to the Restricted Section of the library under the Invisibility Cloak had not had the same satisfaction James was accustomed to. And while standing under the cloak in front of Snape and in hearing distance of MacDonald, James knew it was not the night to test his good fortune. So he'd scrambled into the common room and barely avoided bumping Lily Evans who strode to the portrait hole, her green eyes almost more formidable than any Avada Kedavra curse (thought it would've been highly distasteful to say this aloud)._

_When James plopped down on the wonderfully aged sofa and groaned comfortably, he'd expected Lily to close the portrait door. It would have been symbolic of closing the Slytherin out of her world, of saving he had no place amongst the brave; it would have been typical Lily to make a move of this caliber but rage and grief had distracted Lily from what she would normally do. _

_James did his best to not jump when the portrait finally did close. Using his peripheral vision without any turn of the head, James stayed very still as he watched Lily lean against the wall, a barely audible sigh escaping her lips. _

_Lily had put on a show early, going back to her girlfriends right after she publically accepted the termination of her friendship with Snape, but James had stared at her longingly long enough to have some idea of the emotions she thought she was hiding, James had seen the flash of pain in her eyes at the unforgiveable word, _Mudblood_-James felt dirty for even thinking it. To cast such a terrible word on Lily Evans, the most talented witch in the school, was simply absurd. Yes, James could tell from her eyes that it cut to the deep, and his guilt for being somehow involved in that hurt intensified when she'd been absent from the table in the Great Hall at dinner. _

_James had been so involved in his thoughts that he did not notice Lily stand up, giving herself a little shake as she squared her jaw and made to march back up to her dormitory. Nor did he notice the double take when Lily realized her confrontation with Snape was privy to audience of one James Potter, but his ears were always receptive to the sound of Lily Evan's voice._

"_Are you happy now, Potter? Does it bring you joy that you were right all along, that Sev-Snape isn't fit to be in the same room as me? That I was wrong in defending someone who never wanted to be helped, and thought so little of me? Am I really worth so little…is that what everyone thinks of me…?" Lily trailed of, her voice catching as she forgot her rage with James and opened to self-doubt, raised of course from being stabbed in the back from her first best friend in the magical world. _

_James had to turn around and look at her in disbelief, and was alarmed to see her crying. Lily Evans never cried; not even in their second year when he told her he'd only been improving her looks by making her hair green and hazel brown polka dots. She had also failed to see the humor in his statement that it was their eye colors joined together, and that they must be meant to be. No, Lily Evans did not cry, and certainly not in front of James Potter. But since James was witnessing this unbelievable moment, he had the task of weighing his options; what would make her less angry with him? He knew he already trod on dangerous grounds; today's actions did not go far in making her like him better, so this was a delicate matter. James had two options; he could either apologize quietly and leave Lily to herself, or he could try to comfort her as well as the fiery young woman would allow him to. The latter was probably the right thing to do, but it did not make James fear for his life any less by knowing that for once, he was going to do the right thing by Lily Evans._

_Slowly, lightly, James stood up and walked around the sofa to Lily's side and ever so softly, he grasped her shoulder. James had never been this close, almost intimately close, to Lily Evans. If he was honest with himself she could not be blamed for keeping him at a fair distance. James closed his eyes at the contact and heard Lily shudder, whether from surprise or disgust he wasn't sure, but when he opened his eyes to look at her Lily was staring at him with confusion and slight aversion. Ah, so both then. James gulped and looked Lily straight on, and started the bravest speech of his life to date._

"_What I did today…what I've done the last five years really…is inexcusable. You're right to despise me, right to call me an arrogant toad. I've never shown myself to you as anything but. I can't be sorry for hating Snape, because he embraces everything about magic that I'd love to see gone from our world. He is freely choosing a path that will only lead to the destruction of good people, of happiness and our way of life. I can't be sorry for hating him for hurting you either, Evans, because you deserve so much better than that. I know you don't think much of the fact that I would never call you or anyone else that _wretched, evil_ term, or that you don't want me to come to your defense, but know that I will anyway, because it's what I believe is right. I am sorry that Snape threw your friendship away, because it means that he rejected everything that you represent; he rejected the light you could've brought to his life and he rejected you as a person, and I can't forgive him for that. But for what it's worth, I can't forgive myself for any part I might have played in making it happen; I _do_ think you're better off without him, but I'm sorry for anything I might have done to help him cause you pain."_

_There. It was unsure whether James had ever said so much Lily, except for his attempts at flirting and teasing; certainly there had never been much serious conversation between the two. That was James fault as well, but so this was a big moment, and he felt slightly breathless as he stared at Lily, nervously wondering what was crossing her mind. She looked dazed-still angry and hurt, but more dazed than anything now. Lily opened and closed her mouth a few times before turning to look at his hand with surprise. James was surprised as well; his hand certainly had a mind of his own! He'd never consciously made the decision, but sometime during his little speech James' hand had made its way to Lily's cheek, even cupping her chin as it did now. What a delightfully, devilishly daring hand. James never wanted to wash that hand._

"_Do you really mean all that? Or are you just saying it? Cause I promise you, Potter, this is the last night you'd want to be toying with me. I might be tempted to make a slip of my hand over your pumpkin juice some morning at the table; you wouldn't be able to taste the difference and you could break out into hives or an incredibly ill placed rash, or an illness-"_

"_Evans, not that I don't blame you for not trusting me fully, though I will admit it stings a bit when this is truly the most sincere moment I've had with you, and you just ruined it, I just could never see you doing that. That is the difference between you and me; you talk like this when you're angry with me, and while you're certainly feisty enough to brew the potion and bring it to breakfast, you'd be overcome with guilt and feeling before you could 'slip your hand' over my goblet. You think things through much more than I do, which is why not only would I make that potion, I _would_ put it in my enemy's goblet but maybe not in front of everyone in the Great Hall. That's too amateurish for my level, I-" Oops. James hadn't meant the conversation to take this turn. Great. Indeed, Lily's eyes flashed. _

"_You're actually thinking about pranking right now? Potter, you are so aggravating!" Lily wrenched his hand from her chin and spun around on her heel, taking quick strides to the window. It was for his own good, James was sure, that she removed herself from close vicinity, but since when did James ever follow what was for his own good? Certainly not when his body had a mind of its own, as it seemed to tonight; just like his hand had moved of its own accord, James found his feet bringing him to the window to stand behind Lily. He stared at her stormy reflection, his eyes just seeing a few inches over her head._

"_That came out wrong, I didn't mean-" "No, Potter you really don't get it!" Lily hurled at him as she turned to face him, back up against the window. "You have so, so much going for you and you don't appreciate any of it. You cheapen it in fact! You duel in hallways over the drop of a hat in your presence, you put stuff in people's food to change their appearances, and you hang boys upside down till their old, grungy boxers are hanging out! You cheapen your magic with such stupidity and yet you waltz around like we should all love you! You put on shows of magic in front of me and expect me to say yes when you ask me out, or you hex any guy who happens to even talk to me out of jealousy! You do everything in the world except try to be yourself! That's what is so aggravating; you show this despicable character to the world when deep down, I have to believe that's not the real you. Remus Lupin would never befriend someone as contemptible as that." Lily stopped to breathe, looking up at him quite seriously._

"_Just a few moments ago you seemed so sincere, so ready to make amends with me. Is that the real James Potter? Whoever he is, is he really better than Snape, more deserving of a place in my life?"_

_James sighed as Lily continued his tirade. He was listening-of course he was, it was Lily of all people and he wanted to prove to her that he actually cared what people had to say. But yes, he was listening and thinking at the same time. All the things he'd done for pure enjoyment of it- humor at the expense of others- she thought was beneath him. True, some of the pranks were cruel more than funny, perhaps today's prank on Snape included. Out of everything Lily was saying, one message seemed very clear; Lily thought he was better than that. In other words, no matter how much she begrudged it to him and would not admit it, she respected his magical abilities. Maybe not James Potter as a person, but most certainly his skills with the wand; she respected that. _

_Maybe if the pranks were to continue, they should be more artful, displays of magical prowess meant to impress and delight. James would have to remember to discuss with Padfoot and Moony later, but again, now was time to focus on Lily._

"…_and really, all the pranks are so beneath you. You're the best wizard in our year, why wouldn't you want to do more with that knowledge? Why treat it so poorly when there are people here who have to try to earn respect for their magic, because they aren't lucky enough to be born in your shoes, to be more than Muggle-born?" Lily looked at him so earnestly now. For all her confidence and pride of her background, Snape's betrayal had certainly made an impact. And yet, James could see why; there were people at Hogwarts, people outside in the world who would never give her a chance because she was Muggle-born, whilst he had every door open to him as a pure-blood and he was wasting opportunities. _

_He was about to voice his wish that they'd had more of these argumentative but thought provoking discussions when he heard an undeniable sound resonate; Lily's stomach. James grinned as Lily flushed, covering her stomach with her hands as if determined to quelch all proof of hunger. So James had to laugh when it happened again, even louder this time. Lily looked like she was actively struggling between the desire to hex James or flee. So James decided for her, as it was simply in his nature to do._

"_I know it isn't gentlemanly of me to comment, but you're hungry, and I know you skipped dinner because I waited the entire time for you, because I wanted to ask to speak to you privately to apologize. So clearly you need to eat Evans, and not only am I always ready to eat, I'm not ready to end this conversation either. As such, here's what I propose, and I apologize for the rule-breaking that must occur: we either sneak out of the castle and go to Hogsmeade, or down to the kitchens. That way, if you can humor being around me a bit longer, you can eat the dinner you cruelly deprived yourself of and I start to show you that I want to be better, and deserving of a place in your life. So…dinner?" James was nervous; Lily Evans and rule-breaking were not synonymous with each other, for James it was practically within the definition of his name. _

"_You did not just ask me to break the rules…with you." Lily stated in disbelief._

_James chuckled. "I assure you, I did. But! Only because I thought it would be to your benefit, as going to bed on an empty stomach is never pleasant. Please say you'll go to the kitchens with me?"_

_Lily threw her hands up in the air and laughed. James decided that her laugh was his favorite sound in the world, even if it had sounded derisive at that moment. "If I get caught and am thrown out of the running for Head Girl, I'm coming after you."_

"_Oooh, I'm frightened," James mock shuddered. "Evans, you wound me with the accusation that I would let you get caught breaking rules. I know this isn't your favorite quality of mine, but I happen to be excellent at breaking rules without being caught. And you can't tell me you never wondered how we Mauraders got around undetected so easily! Plus, Head Girl is still over a year away-don't worry so much. You've had it in the bag since the end of third year"_

_Lily smirked and said, "I'd almost call you out for arrogance but you avoided it quite smartly. Very well, off to the kitchens! But," Lily warned, looking serious again, "this doesn't mean we're friends. I barely even like you, especially after today. This is just because I want food, and…I've never been to the kitchens, so this is an adventure. I guess I can't graduate without having ever been to the kitchens. You can apologize all you want, because it will take a lot more than apologies to make you go up in how I see you. Now let's go."_

_As James grabbed his cloak strode out the portrait hole, he glanced at his watch and cursed; he hadn't realized how late it was. Oops, he hadn't meant to curse in front of Lily either. _

_The torches were all dimmed and it was drafty out in the roomy castle halls. Lily was still in her dressing gown and he could almost see her goosebumps forming. Mmm, cloak time._

"_Now, how do you propose to get us to the kitchens undetected?" Lily inquired, a hint of a challenge to her voice. James smiled, and simply stood next to her and whirled the cloak around to cover them, delighting in her astonishment as her body disappeared for the first time._

"_Evans, I have a secret to share with you. A family secret in fact-and I promise, I'm not bragging…"_

_The pair walked off down the hall, deep in conversation. No, it was not quite the start of a friendship; there was too much hurt and pain in their past for one night to heal all of that. But it was more the beginning of an end; an end of loathing and misunderstanding, an end of immaturity and arrogance. The end of enmity and the beginning of peace._


End file.
